MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in the 17th East Asia Summit in Cambodia on Saturday and Sunday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing Wednesday.

"On November 12-13, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in the 17th East Asia Summit," she noted.

According to the spokeswoman, the Russian side traditionally views this venue as "an important element of the multipolar architecture of regional security with the potential to develop mutually beneficial multilateral cooperation."

"During the events of this summit, we find it important to discuss in detail the challenges that the Asia-Pacific Region is encountering. The key one among them are the attempts by the United States of America and its allies to upset the balance of the current system of transnational relations established here. Along with seeking to bring a confrontational charge to Asia with narrow-bloc instruments of domination, including sabotaging the operations of existing regional mechanisms and simultaneously launching various non-inclusive so-called India-Pacific projects," she added.

The spokeswoman stressed that the Russian side sees "dangerous trends" in the fact that NATO military and military-technological structures "are literally being brought" into the region. She said that the danger is in merging this infrastructure with the military potential of Washington's allies including the AUKUS alliance (Australia, Britain and the US). "Russia invariably advocates that the East Asia Summit should address specific development issues that are relevant to each and every country in the Asia-Pacific region," Zakharova added.

Russian initiatives

The diplomat reiterated that Russian proposals on launching a mechanism of collective response to pandemic threats were presented within the framework of the East Asia Summit. "We also put forward the idea of using the potential of the tourism industry to jointly search for avenues leading to the economic recovery of member states," she added. "The next step is holding a meeting between the leaders of tourism agencies," she explained.

Zakharova also noted that ASEAN, the core of the East Asia Summit, supported Russia’s proposals on facilitating interaction between volunteer movements of member states. "We welcome ASEAN’s interest in developing interaction with other constructively oriented alliances of the Eurasian space and support inviting SCO Secretary General [Zhang Ming] to ASEAN’s events in Phnom Penh," she said. "ASEAN contacts with this structure enable it to lay the foundation to build sweeping continental cooperation directed at achieving sustainable development, well-being and prosperity for our countries," the diplomat concluded.